Daniela Taplin Lundberg’s production company, Stay Gold Features, has closed a deal to acquire and develop Black Lion, the true story of journalist Carlos Mavroleon, based on a pitch from Academy Award nominated writer, Alessandro Camon (co-wrote The Messenger, upcoming The Brand). Andrew Garfield, Rupert Fowler and Daniela Taplin Lundberg are producing, with Garfield attached to star. Nicholas Mavroleon, Aidan Hartley, and Alessandro Camon will executive produce.
Black Lion tells the true story of Carlos Mavroleon, a Harvard educated heir to an English/Greek shipping empire, who left his high-flying life as a Wall Street trader to become a world-renowned war reporter. Mavroelon was known for his daring and ability to operate in the most dangerous conflict zones in the world. The story will be framed by Mavroleon’s final assignment for ’60 Minutes,’ where he was tasked with sneaking into Afghan tribal territories immediately after President Clinton’s 1998 missile strikes against the Bin Laden camps. Mavroelon was one of the first journalists to discover the all-important Pakistani link in the Al Qaida/Taliban axis and was subsequently found dead in a Peshawar motel room days later under mysterious circumstances.
Stay Gold Features’ first film, Patti Cake$, recently premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and sold to Fox Searchlight in an all-night bidding war. Recently, the company executive produced and co-financed Under the Silver Lake, starring Andrew Garfield and directed by acclaimed filmmaker, David Robert Mitchell (It Follows). The company also premiered The Strange Ones, a debut feature from Lauren Wolkstein and Chris Radcliff based on their short film at this year’s South by Southwest Film Festival. This summer, Stay Gold will produce and co-finance the highly anticipated Harriet Tubman biopic entitled Harriet with Cynthia Erivo starring in the lead role.
Already in development for Garfield & Fowler is the Untitled Adidas/Puma Project, in partnership with Fortitude International.
